Search Results for: rise records

Versatile soul icon Rufus Thomas, a pioneering radio DJ and a singer/songwriter famed for the R&B standard “Walking The Dog,” has died in Memphis at age 84, his family said Sunday. Over a 70-year career, which took off in a segregated minstrel show, Thomas was a key player in the rise of rock ‘n’ roll and soul. He recorded for the two greatest record labels to come out of Memphis, Sun and Stax, and performed into his 80s. Thomas died Saturday at St. Francis Hospital of apparent heart failure, his family said. He had been receiving treatment at the hospital… Read more »

If Shaggy’s “Keep’n It Real” and “Freaky Girl” sound different in February, and you ask the pop-reggae veteran what happened, don’t be surprised if his response is “It Wasn’t Me.” He’s not kidding. For Hotshot Ultramix (February 12), Shaggy allowed remixers such as Punch, Sting International and Gordon Dukes to play doctor with those tunes as well as other Hotshot (2000) tracks including “Dance & Shout,” “Hope” and “Leave It to Me,” according to an MCA Records spokesperson. Remixers J.C. Moreno, Christopher “Longman Productions” Birch and Tony “CD” Kelly also contributed to the project. Hotshot Ultramix also contains three previously… Read more »

Recipients of the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and Trustees Awards were announced today by Michael Greene, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. Pianist and band leader Count Basie and recording artists Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Al Green, and Joni Mitchell will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards. Engineer/producer Tom Dowd and original rock disc jockey Alan Freed will be honored with Trustees Awards. Formal acknowledgment of the awards will be made in conjunction with the 44th Annual GRAMMY ® Awards ceremony, which willbe held at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The show will be a prime-time television special on… Read more »

British rock band the Cure mounted a farewell tour last year to promote what it billed as its last album, and had such a blast playing for more than half a million people in North America and Europe that it now hopes to return to the road in 2002. Retirement at age 42 just never suited the Cure’s leader, singer/guitarist Robert Smith, whose gloomy songs about death and despair have transfixed fans since the Cure released its first single in 1978. “The swan song was actually me… saying the group’s going to end,” Smith told Reuters in a recent interview.… Read more »

From his humble beginnings as an Oakland A’s batboy to his phenomenal success with the 1990 cross-over hit, “U Can’t Touch This,” MC Hammer rose to the top faster than any rap act in music history. But less than five years later, he had completely lost his more than $30 million dollar fortune. The music-filled dramatic biography “Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story” stars Romany Malco in the title role of this true story about the ’90s rap- music phenomenon who soared to the top – and then lost it all. Tangi Miller also stars in the VH1 Original Movie,… Read more »

Just a little over a year after dropping his multiplatinum third LP, My Name Is Joe, the album’s namesake is preparing to release a follow-up, Better Days, on December 4, his quickest album turnaround ever. “I’m at a good label now,” he said with a smile. “The freedom there is a lot better than it was before. I wasn’t happy where I was, which was Mercury [Records].” The strife caused by recording for Mercury was nothing compared to the anxiety he suffered in the wake of the September 11 attacks. On that unforgettable day, he was sitting in his new… Read more »

Singer Mya has joined Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, Christine Baranski and John C. Reilly in Miramax Films’ musical feature “Chicago.” Mya, who has released two albums on Interscope Records since 1998, is currently in Toronto rehearsing with the rest of the cast for her supporting role in the Rob Marshall-directed film. Shooting is to start Dec. 12, with a scheduled Christmas 2002 bow. In the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical, Mya will star as Mona, one of the cell block prisoners guilty of murder. The pop/R&B songstress will also be featured singing and dancing in… Read more »

The members of No Doubt are pleased to announce that fans will have one less week to wait for the arrival of the band’s new Interscope Records album, ROCK STEADY. The collection, which was recorded throughout 2001 with a variety of producers at a number of international locations, is now scheduled to arrive in record stores on December 11, 2001, seven days earlier than first planned. The release date has been pushed up in response to the overwhelming response that’s greeted No Doubt’s new single and video, “Hey Baby,” including an impressive 130 first-week adds on Top-40 stations. The pride… Read more »

Alicia Keys, the 20-year-old hip-hop star who made a big splash this year with her debut album, scored five American Music Award nominations on Tuesday, easily outdistancing her nearest rivals. Ten acts, including late R&B singer Aaliyah, country star Tim McGraw and boy band ‘N Sync, picked up two nominations each, organizers said. The awards, now in their 29th year, will be handed out on Wednesday, Jan. 9, during a ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. ABC will broadcast the event that night. Winners are determined by a national survey of about 20,000 Americans, who choose from… Read more »

Four-time Grammy Award winner Janet Jackson is set to release All For You – Special Limited Edition, as part of a brilliant-boxed set, which will include new music, award-winning videos, as well as behind the scenes footage and live performances. Set for release on November 20th, the CD and DVD will be packaged together, along with a 24-page booklet with new photos of Janet from her “All For You World Tour 2001.” “Janet Jackson’s brilliant visual sense and style in music video along with her multi-platinum All For You album is represented dynamically in this new DVD/album package,” says Ray… Read more »